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Personal Injury Blog

Motorcycle Accident Fatality Numbers up Again

Thursday, December 01, 2011

In 2009, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had announced news that was very welcome to San Fernando Valley motorcycle accident lawyers. The agency reported a decline in the number of motorcycle accident fatalities nationwide, the first such decline recorded in more than 11 years. However, in 2010, it was an entirely different picture. According to new data released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for 2010, there was an increase in the number of motorcyclists killed in accidents, from 4,469 in 2009 to 4,580 in 2010.

That made for an increase of .7%, and although that may seem like a minor increase, it is still important because it signifies that any progress that has been made in reducing these fatality numbers over the past years, may have already been lost.

The federal agency has not yet gotten around to giving an explanation for the increase in motorcycle accidents-related fatalities. However, San Fernando Valley personal injury lawyers have a few theories. For one thing, in 2010, there was an increase in the number of vehicle miles traveled, with Americans traveling more miles last year. That has meant heavier vehicular traffic, and as a result, an environment that isn't as safe for motorcyclists. The previous year’s lower motorcycle accident death rate had been linked by some experts to a drop in vehicle miles traveled across the country, because of the recession. That doesn't seem to be true any more, and it could be that there are more numbers of automobiles on the streets, and these are colliding with motorcycles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not released data about the causes of motorcycle accidents last year, including rates of helmet use among motorcyclists and other important data that could provide clues to the reasons for this increase. However, any San Fernando Valley motorcycle accident attorney would advise that a motorcyclist always wear helmets while riding, and look out for vehicles.